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After months of rapid expansion, Bitcoin’s hashrate growth slowed down in January, according to the latest report from TheMinerMag. The network’s difficulty saw its first decline since September, indicating that even though publicly listed companies have kept increasing their hash power, their growth isn't enough to compensate for the capitulation of other, probably smaller operators.The total revenue made from bitcoin (BTC) mining remained stable at $1.4 billion for the month. Publicly traded mining companies, which collectively hold 99,000 bitcoin (worth roughly $9.7 billion), accounted for about 30% of the hashrate market share in January.Competition between the biggest publicly traded companies has also increased.The leading mining firm, Marathon Digital (MARA), retained its top spot with a realized hashrate of 41.65 EH/s, followed by CleanSpark at 34.77 EH/s. Riot Platforms, which has been expanding aggressively, is closing in with 31.27 EH/s.“Notably, the competition within the 30 EH/s group is heating up like never before, while the gap between the 30 EH/s tier and the 10 EH/s group — comprising Core Scientific, Cipher Mining, and Bitfarms — continues to widen,” the report said.The top miners taking more market share is hardly a surprise as the recent halving event has cut bitcoin mining rewards by half and squeezed the industry's profit margin, even with the BTC price near $100,000. In such an environment, it's tough for smaller players to compete with big operations which were already positioned to dominate the market. In fact, a lot of miners are already looking for other revenue sources, such as hosting machines for AI and HPC firms. Read more: Bitcoin Halving Is a 'Show Me the Money' Moment for MinersThe report also said that mining hardware imports to the U.S. also slowed in January, a factor contributing to the stabilization of hashrate growth. However, some firms, including Blockchain Power Corp and AcroHash, have imported a significant amount of cooling infrastructure from Bitmain.Looking ahead, TheMinerMag predicts another difficulty adjustment decline in February as some smaller mining operators exit the market due to lower profitability.Read more: Bitcoin Mining Is a Game of Survival, Consolidation and Potential AI Diversification: BernsteinDisclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.... Read more

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed his disappointment with some ETH community members and thought it was “bad” that the ecosystem was too welcoming for “casinos.”During an ask-me-anything (AMA) on Tako, Buterin responded to a question about whether he had felt disappointed at the Ethereum Foundation, the crypto industry or the community. He answered “of course,” especially when others question why Ethereum has not been more open to applications with blockchain gambling, seemingly taking a jab at its competitor, Solana, and how their ecosystem has embraced a lot of memecoin activity over the past year.Buterin’s comment comes as the Ethereum community has faced backlash from members raising the alarm that the chain will lose its competitive advantage to rivals if it doesn’t address some core issues, while Solana has attracted more new developers than Ethereum and has poached top talent.Buterin also said that if the community continues on with this “moral reversal,” he would no longer participate in the Ethereum ecosystem.“But I found an interesting point: on the internet, many people will say those things, but when I chat with the community in person, everyone’s values are the same as before, so I feel like I have a responsibility to this community and can’t abandon them,” Buterin added.Read more: Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Goes on Offense Amid Major Leadership Shake-up ... Read more

The European Central Bank (ECB) said it is looking to develop a way of settling distributed-ledger technology (DLT) transactions with fiat currency as it expands its work on the key feature that underpins the blockchain and cryptocurrencies.The bank plans a two-stage approach to using the technology, which is a decentralized database that is maintained and updated independently by individual participants in a large network. Firstly it will develop a system linked to its existing Target settlement system. Target ensures "the free flow of cash, securities and collateral across Europe," it said.“This is an important contribution to enhancing European financial market efficiency through innovation," Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, who oversees the initiative, said in a Thursday statement.The bank will also look for a long-term, more integrated way of settling DLT-based transitions in fiat money, which will include foreign exchange settlement.The ECB has been exploring digital currency technology since 2023. The initiative will build on exploratory work which invited financial market stakeholders to explore "wholesale financial transactions recorded on distributed ledger technology platforms to be settled in central bank money."A timeline on the bank's plans will be made public later. ... Read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unit tasked with chasing bad guys in the crypto space will be smaller and called something significantly different, the agency said Thursday, further cementing its trend away from an aggressive enforcement stance against the industry.In three years, the same internal group has transitioned from the "Cyber Unit" to the "Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit" and now to the "Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit," seemingly taking some focus off its crypto role. In 2022, then-Chairman Gary Gensler's SEC announced the enforcement squad was almost doubling to 50 people. The latest announcement says it will include "approximately 30 fraud specialists and attorneys across multiple SEC offices.""The unit will not only protect investors but will also facilitate capital formation and market efficiency by clearing the way for innovation to grow," Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda said in a statement, which also announced Laura D’Allaird as the head of the overhauled group."It will root out those seeking to misuse innovation to harm investors and diminish confidence in new technologies.”That language sharply contrasts with the crypto-focused rhetoric from Gensler in 2022, when he said the unit would pursue "those seeking to take advantage of investors in crypto markets."President Donald Trump elevated Republican Uyeda from his role as commissioner to run the agency on an interim basis while the U.S. Senate considers the nomination of former Commission Paul Atkins for the permanent job. Uyeda isn't sitting on his hands during the wait and has already been remaking the SEC, especially in relaxing its strong past distrust of crypto.Read More: SEC Backs Off Crypto Dealer Fight, Continues Resetting Industry ApproachUyeda formed a Crypto Task Force at the SEC, under the watch of fellow Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, and this enforcement unit is meant to "complement the work" of that group. In addition to still hunting for "fraud involving blockchain technology and crypto assets," the unit will watch for unlawful uses of artificial intelligence, hacks and other cybersecurity missteps. ... Read more

In the wake of shifting U.S. policy, the crypto landscape is undergoing a fundamental change — from fast-moving speculative bets to long-term, anchored investments, said Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth during a fireside chat at Consensus Hong Kong on Wednesday.Demuth said the 2024 bull run wasn’t a repeat of the retail-fueled 2021 cycle. Instead, it was being driven by what he calls “sticky money” — institutional capital that’s less volatile and more committed.Vienna-based Bitpanda is one of Europe’s largest crypto exchanges with over 6 million users and offers stocks and previous metals, in addition to digital assets. The platform recently secured regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom.Speaking about the impact of U.S. policies under the Trump administration, Demuth argued that the government's aggressive embrace of crypto is forcing global markets to adapt. “The Trump administration is forcing everybody to do this, it’s not an option anymore, [...] it’s mandatory.”A clear sign of this shift is the booming interest in Bitcoin ETFs, which have ballooned to nearly $58 billion in assets under management in just one year of trading. Demuth believes these vehicles signal a maturing market, where major players are locking in capital for the long term, rather than chasing quick gains.While altcoins haven’t picked up the same speed of adoption as bitcoin, Demuth believes that will change once U.S. regulation evolves and alternative crypto ETFs gain approval.He also believes that U.S. banks will be the next wave of adopters.“[Crypto] has been made one of the pillars of U.S. economic and financial policy, so you have the biggest financial power in the world putting [crypto] on the spotlight which means all the banks now have to either look into it or even offer something,” he said.He predicts a surge in stablecoin issuances directly from U.S. banks and an uptick in tokenized assets, from government bonds to real estate.In Europe, Bitpanda continues to focus on navigating the continent’s complex regulatory landscape, holding multiple licenses and positioning itself as a key player in a fragmented market. Demuth said the potential for new customers in Europe is big enough for the company to stay focused on its expansion in that region.However, the company is expanding its B2B services, he said, licensing its crypto infrastructure to banks in the Middle East as well as Europe. Major financial institutions, including Germany’s Deutsche Bank and France’s largest banking group, are already tapping into Bitpanda’s backend systems. ... Read more

Digital asset marketplace Figure Markets has launched YLDS, the first yield-bearing stablecoin registered as a public security offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said Thursday.The YLDS stablecoin, issued through Figure Certificate Corporation, operates on the Provenance Blockchain and accrues interest daily, paid out every month in either U.S. dollars or YLDS tokens. It is backed by the same securities as prime money market funds and pays holders a return at an annual rate of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) less 50 basis points. The token can be transferred peer-to-peer and exchanged for dollars or other stablecoins around the clock, with fiat off-ramps available during U.S. banking hours.Stablecoins mushroomed to a $200 billion asset class and are increasingly popular for payments and cross-border transactions. However, market-leading stablecoins like USDT and USDC don't generally pay out holders the yield earned on reserve assets, predominantly U.S. Treasuries. That's where tokenized versions of money-market funds or investment strategies like BlackRock's BUIDL, Franklin Templeton's BENJI or Ethena's USDE enter the market: They are increasingly used as collateral or to park on-chain cash to earn a yield.Read more: Tokenized Treasuries: A Game-Changer for Collateral in Crypto MarketsFigure Markets is the digital asset arm of Figure Technologies, a company co-founded by Mike Cagney, the former CEO of SoFi. The firm has played a key role in blockchain-based real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, processing over $41 billion in transactions and originating $11 billion in home equity line of credit using the Provenance Blockchain. Figure filed paperwork to the SEC to launch a yield-bearing stablecoin offering in October 2023.The company expects YLDS to attract interest from developers looking to integrate stable, yield-bearing digital assets into decentralized finance (DeFi) and payment applications.“We see tremendous applications for YLDS,” Figure Markets CEO Mike Cagney said in a statement. “Exchange collateral, cross-border remittances and payment rails are immediate opportunities, but this is just the beginning of a larger shift of traditional finance to blockchain.”Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.... Read more

Already losing its legal fight with the crypto industry over a rule that would have expanded the definition of regulated securities dealers to include a wide array of digital assets operations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given up its appeal.The SEC has been in reset mode on its courtroom entanglements with crypto issues as the leadership elevated by President Donald Trump has been reversing years of the agency's adversarial stance. The latest move was to formally drop the appeal in a case in which the Blockchain Association and Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas sued the SEC and a Texas federal judge agreed that the regulator "exceeded its statutory authority.""With new leadership at the agency leading to today’s final dismissal, we’re looking forward to productive conversations between industry and the SEC moving forward – and a brighter future for digital assets in the United States,” said Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith, in a statement.The rewritten dealer rule was one of the agency's major efforts at crypto rulemaking under the tenure of former chairman Gary Gensler, and it was crafted with the agency's longtime stance in mind that existing laws were sufficient to handle the oversight of the digital assets space. The industry's position was that the rule made untenable demands on decentralized finance (DeFi) and also roped in crypto traders who didn't offer dealer services.The agency didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the legal withdrawal.Since being installed as the SEC's acting chairman, Mark Uyeda, has begun to aggressively overhaul the agency's senior staff and its legal approach to the crypto sector. He's set to be replaced whenever Trump's permanent pick, Paul Atkins, can be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, though Atkins is expected to continue in the same path.Earlier this month, the SEC also sought to pause its enforcement fight with Binance over the agency's accusations of securities violations so the matter could be resolved in another way.Read More: U.S. SEC Loses Crypto Lawsuit Over 'Dealer' Definition That Pushed Into Crypto... Read more

As the Trump administration appears to fully embrace digital assets in the U.S., there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about crypto’s future, but also many areas of uncertainty.In today’s issue, Beth Haddock from Warburton Advisers takes us through the first 30 days of Trump’s term and analyzes the far-reaching impact his administration could have on the crypto industry.Then, DJ Windle from Windle Wealth answers questions you may have from the article in Ask and Expert.– Sarah Morton30 Days of Trump: What’s Changed for Crypto?A year ago, skepticism and stalled policy progress stunted crypto’s growth. Trump’s election win has shifted the Overton window (referring to the change in political policies that people are willing to accept) on crypto’s acceptance, but will that lead to sustainable growth and regulatory clarity?His January 23 Executive Order (EO) addressing crypto prioritizes "responsible growth," a shift from President Biden’s 2022 EO focused on "responsible development." Early actions — rescinding SAB 121, ending Operation Chokepoint 2.0, pardoning Ross Ulbricht and appointing new leaders — signal change.One month in, progress is clear, but obstacles remain. A divided Congress, slow legislation and market speculation — seen in memecoins like $TRUMP and $MELANIA — complicate the path forward. The key question: Are we just moving past FTX, or will crypto be recognized as critical to Web3 innovation?Three Key Trends to Watch1. Acceleration of Product InnovationThe chart above clearly illustrates the Trump administration’s early focus on leadership changes and rollbacks of enforcement-driven policies. With regulatory enforcement easing, U.S. crypto development no longer needs to wait — or move offshore.The SEC’s Crypto 2.0 initiative, led by Commissioner Peirce, shifts from enforcement-first policies to a new Crypto Taskforce. Meanwhile, the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, chaired by crypto advocate David Sacks, signals a more supportive stance. These shifts create space for innovation, allowing blockchain to prove its value before regulations catch up.Key areas for progress include stablecoin regulation, clearer digital asset custody requirements, hybrid TradFi-crypto products (such as expected Solana and ETH ETFs) and global payments advancements through partnerships like those with X Money and Visa. Resolving complex policy priorities will take time, as reflected in a16z’s 11 priorities and the Crypto Bar’s open letter, highlighting the breadth of influential voices.As adoption grows, the network effect of successful crypto products will push for consensus-driven regulation. But without meaningful legislative action, the industry risks a return to uncertainty when Washington’s leadership inevitably shifts again.2. Speculation vs. Sustainable GrowthAmid all this optimism, crypto still struggles to establish credibility and prove itself as a force for responsible innovation. The opportunity to revolutionize finance is here — but is market speculation part of the growth or is it hindering sustainable growth?Memecoins like $TRUMP and $MELANIA surged just before the inauguration, reflecting demand for high-risk, culturally driven assets, while also raising regulatory concerns about volatility and integrity. The class action lawsuit against pump.fun underscores skepticism of growth untethered to sustainable utility.To maintain credibility, crypto must distinguish real-world and potential wealth creation applications from speculative assets. Fraud and misrepresentation remain illegal, whether in memecoins, penny stocks or collectibles. As the market evolves, businesses and investors must prioritize due diligence to separate hype from lasting potential.3. The Urgent Need for Regulatory ClarityDespite leadership changes, there remains an urgent need for clear, enforceable crypto regulation. Key unresolved issues include:Addressing fraud and consumer protections without stifling innovation and decentralized financeDefining digital asset regulatory authority among agenciesEstablishing fit-for-purpose AML frameworks for stablecoins and other innovationsWith crypto-friendly leaders now at the SEC and CFTC, regulatory progress is likely, but legislative action will take time. While Congress is considering proposals like the GENIUS Act, the STABLE Act, and new rules for market structure, pragmatic change isn’t guaranteed this year.For now, the industry must keep shifting the Overton window toward recognizing crypto’s role in U.S. tech leadership, public policy and economic security. Until comprehensive laws emerge, regulatory leadership — seen with the CFTC pilot program and recent Federal Reserve speech — must guide a stable path for growth.The Path ForwardThis year is pivotal — not just because toxic policies are fading and leadership has shifted, but because momentum is driving Web3 and blockchain forward.The goal isn’t just "responsible growth" but sustainable growth anchored in regulatory clarity. If the industry balances innovation with strong protections against fraud and theft, crypto’s resilience and credibility will be strengthened. With tech-neutral regulations, the U.S. won’t just lead in crypto and AI policy — we’ll also be ready for whatever else is next, from quantum computing to future breakthroughs. Sustainable innovation matters because technological progress is inevitable.-Beth Haddock, managing partner and founder, Warburton AdvisersAsk an Expert Q: Who is Ross Ulbricht?A: Ross Ulbricht created Silk Road, an early bitcoin-powered marketplace that demonstrated crypto’s potential for decentralized commerce — both legally and illegally. His life sentence became a rallying cry in the crypto community, with many arguing it was excessive and highlighting broader debates on financial privacy and government control. His recent pardon has reignited discussions on justice reform and crypto’s role in the future of digital trade.Q: What are the risks of memecoins?A: Memecoins like $TRUMP and $MELANIA are highly speculative, with prices driven more by social media hype than real utility. While they can generate quick profits, they also carry extreme volatility and risks of manipulation. Many lack long-term viability, so investors should approach them with caution and avoid putting more in them than they can afford to lose.Q: How could state bitcoin investments impact adoption?A: If states allocate reserves to bitcoin, it could legitimize crypto as a store of value, encouraging institutional investors and policymakers to take it more seriously. This could accelerate regulatory clarity, enhance calls for clearer tax guidelines and integrate bitcoin into broader financial infrastructure, helping solidify its role in the economy.-DJ Windle, founder and portfolio manager, Windle WealthKeep ReadingAbu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, has invested approximately $437 million into BlackRock's bitcoin ETF.Google looks to simplify bitcoin adoption with wallet integration alongside existing authentication protocols.FTX’s initial $1.2 billion payout is underway, with creditors with claims of less than $50,000 starting to receive payouts.... Read more

Bitcoin financial services firm Onramp has partnered with lending platform Arch to introduce a bitcoin-backed lending service, the companies announced. The new product allows BTC holders to secure loans while keeping ownership of their assets, a move aimed at investors looking to access liquidity without selling their bitcoin (BTC).The service provides bitcoin-collateralized loans, allowing borrowers to use their holdings as security while receiving cash or stablecoins in return. By using bitcoin as collateral rather than selling it outright, borrowers can avoid capital gains taxes and maintain exposure to the asset’s potential price appreciation, according to the press release.Lending partner Arch specializes in asset-backed loans and will handle the underwriting and loan distribution. Onramp, which focuses on bitcoin financial solutions, will integrate the service into its platform, making it accessible to users looking for an alternative to traditional financing.Bitcoin-backed lending is gaining in popularity this cycle as an alternative to traditional loans, especially among long-term BTC holders who prefer to retain their assets. This model has been used in various financial applications, from personal liquidity needs to institutional financing strategies.Read more: Coinbase to Offer Bitcoin-Backed Loans Through Morpho Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.... Read more

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3245.42, up 1.3% (+40.73) since 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.18 of 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: NEAR (+4.9%) and FIL (+4.6%).Laggards: LTC (-5.9%) and UNI (-3.4%).The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.... Read more

Decentralized derivatives exchange SynFutures has introduced Synthia, an AI trading agent that allows traders to swap or transfer assets using natural language commands.SynFutures is the largest DEX on Coinbase's layer-2 network Base with 24 hour volume hitting $220 million and liquidity at $768 million.The AI agent will be rolled out in three phases, the first of which will include integration on social media platform X and the ability to respond to basic commands like "swap 100 USDC for ETH." The second phase will allow traders and developers to deploy AI agents to specific needs including futures trading and liquidity management.The third and final phase is the introduction of a "meta agent" which is capable of creating and managing multiple agents in order to manage complex workflows and trading strategies.The use of AI in trading is nothing new, a report last year estimates that around 65% of all equities trading is executed by algorithms. But the ability to deploy AI has the potential how traders interact with blockchain trading and decentralized finance (DeFi)."Our vision extends beyond this launch—we plan to develop a framework that will fundamentally transform how users interact and integrate with the onchain economy,” said Rachel Lin, co-founder and CEO of SynFutures.... Read more

The absence of stablecoin regulation in the U.S. is one of the main hurdles to adoption, S&P Global Ratings said in a Wednesday report."The lack of regulation is one of the main impediments to stablecoin adoption in the U.S. and has prevented a broader institutional adoption of stablecoins," analysts led by Mohamed Damak wrote.S&P said it expects adoption to grow once regulation is in place.Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is tied to another asset, such as the U.S. dollar or gold. They play a major role in cryptocurrency markets and are also used for to transfer money internationally.New rules are coming. The Senate's Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act mandates federal regulation for stablecoins with a market cap of over $10 billion with the potential for state regulation if it aligns with federal rules. The House of Representatives STABLE Act calls for state regulation without any conditions.Some users are expected to move from unregulated to regulated stablecoins once a framework is in place, the report said, and this could alter the industry landscape."Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in on-chain transactions," the authors wrote, protecting users' savings from "local monetary instability in emerging markets," or to receive payments.Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said Tether, which issues market leader USDT, could face challenges from proposed U.S. stablecoin regulations, in a report last week.Read more: Tether May Have to Sell Some Bitcoin to Comply With U.S. Stablecoin Rules: JPMorgan... Read more

Pi Network, the smartphone mining project that claims to have 60 million users, released its native PI token Thursday giving traders a roller-coaster ride that saw the price rise 18% in minutes before tumbling 50% over the next two hours.PI debuted at $1.70 at 09:00 UTC, rising to as high as $2.00. It was recently trading at $0.97. The initial surge sent the fully diluted value (FDV) to as high as $195 billion — almost double the value of the Solana blockchain's SOL.The FDV is based on the maximum supply of a token, 100 billion in this case. The self-reported circulating supply is 6.3 billion, putting its market cap at around $6.1 billion.Pi Network has drawn comparisons to viral projects from previous cycles including SafeMoon, which also attracted a retail audience with aggressive marketing and referral schemes. In order for users to begin mining the Pi token on a mobile device, they must first receive an invitation from another user. They are then issued with an invite code they can share themselves. More tokens are rewarded for each referred user, creating an ecosystem that mirrors multilevel marketing (MLM) or pyramid schemes.The project has been around since 2019 with its testnet going live in 2020. The token release marks start of the Pi Network mainnet, which means that all accrued tokens can be transferred and traded.However, exchanges currently lack sufficient liquidity to handle the billions of tokens being traded. In fact, even the most-liquid exchange, OKX, has a 2% market depth of between $33,000 and $60,000. That means an order of, say, $100,000 would move the price significantly, creating a volatile trading environment.Market depth measures the amount of capital required to move an asset in either direction. Based on the token's market cap, a 2% move would equate to a $146 million shift in the project's value.Pi Network has attempted to remedy a disparity between buyers and sellers by offering holders a "lock-up" period, which can be up to three years. If holders opt to lock up their tokens, they will receive higher mining rewards. A similar approach was employed by Richard Heart's controversial HEX token, which lost more than 99% of its value between 2021 and 2024, rendering many of the locked tokens worthless.... Read more

Qualified cryptocurrency custodian BitGo and Copper, the firm behind the ClearLoop settlement system, are providing off-exchange settlement for traders using options exchange Deribit, the firms said on Thursday.Clients of BitGo and Copper can now trade spot and derivatives on Deribit while assets are secured off-exchange in qualified custody with BitGo Trust, and automatically settled leveraging Copper ClearLoop and the Go Network, according to a press release.In a post-FTX world traders are looking to reduce the risks associated with leaving assets on exchanges where possible. BitGo and Copper announced a partnership two years ago to trade on exchanges while assets are held within a regulated custody ring-fenced environment.A simple function of the combined BitGo and Copper ClearLoop networks is delivery versus payment (DvP), so any BitGo client can instantaneously settle with any other BitGo client in an atomic swap of the assets without ever needing to bring those assets on chain, said Brett Reeves, head of BitGo’s Go Network.“We can do this DvP settlement from cold storage, and there's no fees for it,” Reeves said in an interview with CoinDesk. “So we're really looking at eliminating that settlement risk, or Herstatt risk, and moving it towards the traditional finance space.”Under the hood, assets are held with qualified or regulated custody at BitGo, and then at pre-defined intraday settlement periods, the assets that are owed to Deribit are removed from a BitGo account into the Copper ecosystem through to Deribit, Reeves explained. If these assets are owed to the client, it comes back the other way, he said.“The bulk of the client's assets remain within Bitgo custody, apart from a settlement time when they move to exchange,” Reeves said. “At settlement time, that's the P&L that they owe on the transactions, or the variation margin on their positions.”"The synergies between our companies will unlock new opportunities for investors and will completely change the landscape of trading," said Luuk Strijers, CEO of Deribit in a statement.... Read more

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)Crypto traders are deleveraging after Wednesday's FOMC minutes showed the Fed is looking to hold rates steady until inflation improves and discussed pausing or slowing the balance sheet runoff.Still, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped and the dollar weakened. Cryptocurrencies are higher, with the CoinDesk 20 Index up 1.4% and bitcoin 1.2% over 24 hours. The gains follow remarks by Czech National Bank Governor Ales Michl, who reiterated the case for bitcoin as a reserve asset, and President Donald Trump saying he'd ended “Joe Biden’s war on Bitcoin and crypto.”Bitcoin traders are taking a wait-and-see approach as waning demand, a lack of blockchain activity and faltering liquidity inflows point to potential pullback to $86,000. It's currently over $97,000. Their stance is visible not only in declining volatility, but also a significant drop in open interest.Open interest on bitcoin futures contracts has fallen below $60 billion from nearly $70 billion in late January, Coinglass data shows. The decline comes amid what appears to be an unraveling of the memecoin craze as recent struggles, such as Argentina's Libra debacle, dampened enthusiasm.“Right now, the market is in a bit of a cooldown phase,” David Gogel, VP of strategy and operations at the dYdX Foundation, told CoinDesk. “Bitcoin’s been holding up, but after failing to break past $105k in January, we’ve seen capital inflows slow down and speculative assets like Solana and memecoins take a hit.”That hit is visible in the aggregate open interest for futures contracts for SOL, the Solana blockchain's native token. OI dropped from around $6 billion late last month to around $4.3 billion now, according to data from TheTie. Solana is one of the leading networks for memecoins.“The market should stay attuned to broader macro-drivers and geopolitical developments that could trigger moves,” Wintermute OTC trader Jake O told CoinDesk. These geopolitical developments include rising tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that led to a not-so-subtle public exchange.Declining leverage and a shift away from riskier plays suggest the market may be entering a new phase. What that actually entails remains to be seen. Stay alert!What to WatchCrypto:Feb. 21: TON (The Open Network) becomes the exclusive blockchain infrastructure for messaging platform Telegram’s Mini App ecosystem.Feb. 24: At epoch 115968, testing of Ethereum’s Pecta upgrade on the Holesky testnet starts.Feb. 25, 9:00 a.m.: Ethereum Foundation research team Reddit AMA.Feb. 27: Solana-based L2 Sonic SVM (SONIC) mainnet launch (“Mobius”).MacroFeb. 20, 8:30 a.m.: Statistics Canada reports January’s producer price inflation data.PPI MoM Est. 0.8% vs. Prev. 0.2%PPI YoY Prev. 4.1%Feb. 20, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Department of Labor releases the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report for the week ended Feb. 15.Initial Jobless Claims Est. 215K vs. Prev. 213KFeb. 20, 5:00 p.m.: Fed Governor Adriana D. Kugler gives a speech titled "Navigating Inflation Waves While Riding on the Phillips Curve" in Washington. Livestream link.Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m.: Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications reports January’s consumer price inflation data.Core Inflation Rate YoY Est. 3.1% vs. Prev. 3%Inflation Rate YoY Prev. 3.6%Inflation Rate MoM Prev. 0.6%Feb. 21, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases February’s U.S. Purchasing Managers' Index (Flash) reports.Composite PMI Prev. 52.7Manufacturing PMI Est. 51.5 vs. Prev. 51.2Services PMI Est. 53 vs Prev. 52.9EarningsFeb. 20: Block (XYZ), post-market, $0.88Feb. 24: Riot Platforms (RIOT), post-market, $-0.18Feb. 25: ​​Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR), pre-market, $-0.17Feb. 25: Cipher Mining (CIFR), pre-market, $-0.09Feb. 26: MARA Holdings (MARA), post-market, $-0.13Token EventsGovernance votes & callsSky DAO is discussing withdrawing a portion of the Smart Burn Engine’s LP tokens to stop malicious actors from acquiring the tokens.DYdX DAO is discussing increasing the limit on the maximum notional value of liquidations that can occur within a given block on the dYdX protocol to enhance the protocol’s speed and efficiency of risk reduction during liquidations.UnlocksFeb. 21: Fast Token (FTN) to unlock 4.66% of circulating supply worth $78.6 million.Feb. 28: Optimism (OP) to unlock 1.92% of circulating supply worth $34.23 million.Mar. 1: Sui (SUI) to unlock 0.74% of circulating supply worth $81.07 million.Token LaunchesFeb. 20: Pi Network (PI) to be listed on MEXC, OKX, Bitget, Gate.io, CoinW, DigiFinex and others.Conferences:CoinDesk's Consensus to take place in Hong Kong on Feb. 18-20 and in Toronto on May 14-16. Use code DAYBOOK and save 15% on passes.Day 3 of 3: Consensus Hong KongFeb. 23-March 2: ETHDenver 2025 (Denver)Feb. 24: RWA London Summit 2025Feb. 25: HederaCon 2025 (Denver)March 2-3: Crypto Expo Europe (Bucharest, Romania)March 8: Bitcoin Alive (Sydney, Australia)Token TalkBy Oliver KnightPI, the native token of the Pi Network, debuted at $1.70 and immediately rose to $2.00 before losing 50% of its value in the next two hours. The network claims to have 60 million users. There are fewer than 1 million active wallets.Based on a self-reported circulating supply figure of 6.3 billion, PI currently has a market cap of $7.8 billion.The premise behind Pi Network is a blockchain that allows users to mine tokens on their smartphones. It captured a considerable amount of attention from retail traders and has drawn comparison to viral tokens from previous cycles like SafeMoon. Token holders face the risk of a lack of liquidity. The token's most liquid exchange is OKX, but 2% market depth — the amount of capital required to move the price by 2% in either direction — is between $33K and $60K. This means an order of say $100K would shift the market considerably to present volatile trading conditions.Derivatives PositioningBTC volatility on derivatives has reached a monthly low, declining from an annualized 36.09% to 28.43%.That contrasts with ETH, which has seen its annualized volatility rise from 49.43% to 74.72%, according to data published by Deribit.Roughly $1.5 billion worth of BTC and ETH options are set to expire tomorrow, with almost $5 billion expiring in a week's time.The total open interest across all trading pairs on retail centralized exchanges has risen by 2.10% on the day to $80.8 billion.Market Movements:BTC is up 1.10% from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday to $97,300.67 (24hrs: +1.09%)ETH is up 0.60% at $2,738.90 (24hrs: +0.51%)CoinDesk 20 is up 1.72% to 3,250.68 (24hrs: +1.67%)Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 6 bps to 2.99%BTC funding rate is at 0.0037% (4.0920% annualized) on BinanceDXY is down 0.18% at 106.98Gold is up 0.60% at $2,950,84/ozSilver is up 1.52% to $33.19/ozNikkei 225 closed -1.24% at 38,678.04Hang Seng closed -1.60% at 22,576.98FTSE is down 0.24% at 8,690.90Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.62% at 5,494.99DJIA closed Wednesday up 0.16% at 44,627.59S&P 500 closed +0.24% at 6,144.15Nasdaq closed +0.07% at 20,056.25S&P/TSX Composite Index closed unchanged at 25,626.16S&P 40 Latin America closed -1.35% at 2,463.68U.S. 10-year Treasury rate was down 1 bps at 4.53%E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.2% to 6,150.50E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.22% at 22,200.75E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are down 0.15% to 44,643Bitcoin Stats:BTC Dominance: 61.10 (0.04%)Ethereum to bitcoin ratio: 0.02819 (0.28%)Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 831 EH/sHashprice (spot): $54.24Total Fees: 5.127 BTC / $499,118CME Futures Open Interest: 172,360 BTCBTC priced in gold: 32.8 ozBTC vs gold market cap: 9.32%Technical AnalysisBitcoin has rebounded from the yearly open at $93,385, reclaiming the 100-day exponential moving average on the daily timeframe.Over the last three deep sell-offs, the price has formed higher lows, indicating strong buyer interest at the current range lows.However, the short-term 20-day and 50-day EMAs on the daily timeframe recently crossed for the first time since August 5th, signalling a need for caution in the near term.Crypto EquitiesMicroStrategy (MSTR): closed on Wednesday at $318.67 (-4.58%), up 2.01% at $325.08 in pre-marketCoinbase Global (COIN): closed at $258.67 (-2.25%), up 1.76% at $263.22Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY): closed at C$25.32 (-3.76%)MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $15.78 (-1.68%), up 1.33% at $15.99.Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $11.56 (unchanged), up 1.04% at $11.68Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $12.02 (-2.99%), up 1.41% at $12.19CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $9.89 (-1.88%), up 1.81% at $10.07CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $22.78 (-0.26%), unchangedSemler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $52.22 (+2.96%), up 0.06% at $52.25Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $48.41 (+4.00%), unchangedETF FlowsSpot BTC ETFs:Daily net flow: -$64.1 millionCumulative net flows: $40.00 billionTotal BTC holdings ~ 1.170 million.Spot ETH ETFsDaily net flow: $19 millionCumulative net flows: $3.18 billionTotal ETH holdings ~ 3.795 million.Source: Farside InvestorsOvernight FlowsChart of the DayMonth-to-date data for top bridged netflows by network highlights a strong capital inflow into the Base network since the start of the month. The layer-2 blockchain had a net inflow of $314 million, more than twice the amount of the second-placed Arbitrum, which has seen an inflow of $115 million.Inflows to Solana slowed amid liquidity drains caused by multiple high-profile celebrity memecoin launches over the past month.While You Were SleepingLIBRA Memecoin Fiasco Destroyed $251M in Investor Wealth, Research Shows (CoinDesk): Nansen’s on-chain analysts say 86% of people who traded the LIBRA token lost money, with the total loss of $251 million. The winners enjoyed a total profit of $180 million.HK to Expand, Open Up Virtual Assets Market (The Standard): At Consensus Hong Kong, SFC CEO Julia Leung announced ASPIRe — a 12-point roadmap to correct market imbalances with improved licensing, custody, token... Read more